Etihad Airways A380 Back From The Dead

Etihad Airways has returned an Airbus A380 to its home base in Abu Dhabi, essentially from the dead, after more than half a decade in long-term storage.

Flightradar24 flagged the flight, operating as EY9752. The aircraft departed Tarbes at 0716 UTC with a 1500 UTC arrival back into the airline’s home, Abu Dhabi, on 14 January 2026.

The unit, A6-APC, was first delivered to the airline in May 2015, and, over the 11.1 years since, the aircraft has spent only a staggering five or so years in active service.

That limited time in service highlights what the COVID-19 pandemic did to many airline fleets, as airlines were quick to axe superjumbos when demand plummeted, and these businesses entered preservation mode.

With aircraft this large no longer required due to the limited demand, they were either retired permanently or sent to storage. Some airlines, like Etihad Airways, are still reactivating certain aircraft types nearly six years after the pandemic.

Where Has This A380 Been?

This Airbus A380-800, registered A6-APC, has been in storage since the COVID-19 pandemic. The jet was taken out of service on 24 March 2020.

Etihad Airways stored this model in Abu Dhabi from the time of withdrawal from service through to 16 December 2020, when it was moved to proper long-term storage in Tarbes, France (LDE).

Since this point, which is over five years ago, the aircraft has been in France, and it is now finally returning to Abu Dhabi after almost 6 years in storage across the Middle East and France.

What Happened To Etihad Airways’ A380s?

The return of each Airbus A380 to service at Etihad Airways is a blessing for an aircraft type once considered down and out.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and amidst a structural rebuild of the airline’s operations to cut losses and become profitable, the travel demand drop presented fresh opportunities to restructure.

With that in mind, and given the travel demand, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier decided to permanently retire its A380 fleet, believing there was no world in which the return of this aircraft would make sense for its operation.

The retirement followed several studies undertaken by the airline to understand what life without the superjumbo would look like, with the removal only making sense after these studies, given that the jet further complicated an already complex operating environment.

The Return Of The Superjumbo

Etihad Airways wouldn’t be the only airline to retire the Airbus A380 permanently, and it wasn’t the only one to then backtrack on its decision.

After deliberation and internal analysis spurred by the resurgence of demand from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than anticipated, the airline was forced to return the aircraft to service despite previously confirming it would be retired permanently.

Initially deploying the aircraft exclusively between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow, the airline quickly realised that more markets offered routes where the A380 could be helpful, which spurred the reactivation of more units and the return of the aircraft to more global cities.

With persistent delays in the delivery of new planes and demand continuing to increase, what must also be considered is Journey 2030’s ambitions. The reactivation of the A380 has helped drive capacity and record-breaking performance for the airline during a time of need.

Where Will A6-APC Fly?

The return of A6-APC will allow Etihad Airways to deploy an Airbus A380-800 on service through to Tokyo Narita from 16 June 2026.

The airline announced plans to add Tokyo to the A380 network late last year as a bid to enhance the worldwide route map, with the likes of Paris, Toronto, London and Singapore already on it.

Furthermore, adding seats to the popular city, which has seen demand for leisure travel, especially for short-haul flights, in recent years, following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.